It’s something that Robby Slaughter sees often in his role as
principal of Indianapolis-based business-consulting company
AccelaWork. Some companies tore down the walls and later found
out it wasn’t the best fit for their cultures. Not to worry, he
adds. There are ways for your employees -- and you -- to survive
the open-space floor plan without reconfiguring your entire
office.

Stop the noise. Opting out of the commotion can
be as simple as using noise-blocking headphones or even using ear
buds to listen to music. “When you have headphones on, it’s a
universal message that says, ‘Do not disturb,’” Slaughter says.

Make use of flex-time and telecommuting. If your
business can offer flex-time it could be a good solution.
Arriving at the office early, staying later than most, or working
from home can give you some much-needed focus time with fewer
people around. Bonus: An October 2013 WorldatWork report found
that more than 60 percent of respondents said
workplace-flexibility programs had a positive or extremely
positive impact on employee engagement.

Find or create quiet spaces. Creating clusters
of chairs in office corners or quiet spots where you can retreat
with a laptop can help you escape the hubbub, Slaughter says.
Allow employees who need to focus to book the conference room or
any remaining open offices to get some time to work alone.

Use signage. It may feel silly at first, but
hanging a sign on your work station or the back of your chair
that says something like, “I’m working on a project and need to
focus. No interruptions, please,” can be an effective deterrent,
Slaughter says. But use only when needed. People will begin to
ignore it if you leave it hanging in perpetuity.

Institute “no interruption” time. Slaughter
suggests setting aside time periods where interruptions are to be
kept to a minimum. Such efforts may include “no meeting days,”
which leave one day each week free of meetings and conference
calls, allowing time for project work or other tasks. Another
option is to indicate blocks of time – from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on
Mondays and Wednesdays, for example -- where interruptions aren’t
allowed unless they’re emergencies. For some office environments,
it may also be useful to give examples of what does and does not
constitute an “emergency.” If the company’s biggest client is on
the phone and irate, that’s an emergency. If there’s an intense
game of ping pong going on, wait until later for the
briefing.